Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty-Three
Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
When we left off yesterday, Joseph had just been propositioned by Potiphar’s wife. He turned her down – which took both integrity and courage. (The “Me Too” movement reminds us that sexual harassment in the workplace is still around!) Potiphar’s wife was not one to take rejection well. She kept after Joseph. “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with your or even be with her.” (Gen. 39: 10) What a stressful, uncomfortable work environment!
One fateful day, Joseph was in the house, doing his job, and none of the other household servants were around. Uh, oh. Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph by his cloak. She held on tightly and said, “Let’s get it on!” (OK, that was Marvin Gaye, but you get the idea.) This time, Joseph just had to run away, but she held onto his cloak for dear life, and it was still her hand has Joseph ran away in his boxers. As I said before, Potiphar’s wife was not one to take rejection well. She screamed for her household servants. She said, “Look, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed! When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” (Gen. 39: 13-15) Liar, liar, pants on fire!
Have you ever heard it said, “No good deed goes unpunished?” That was the case for Joseph. He did the RIGHT thing, maintaining his integrity even under tremendous stress. And what happened? His master took him and threw him Pharaoh’s prison. Man! I don’t know about you, but I would be…what? Angry? Check. Depressed? Check. Wallowing in self-pity? Check.
But not Joseph. I’m sure he wasn’t happy to be in the Pharaoh’s prison, but we read that while Joseph was in prison, “the Lord was with him.” In addition to that, the warden was kind to Joseph, impressed with his abilities, and soon put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners. Not long after that, Pharaoh’s baker and his chief cup-bearer somehow offended the king, and so they were thrown into prison. Joseph helped them settle in and showed them the ropes.
One night, the baker and the cup-bearer both had weird, disturbing dreams. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed how dejected they looked. And now comes our question for today: “Why are your faces so sad today?” Here’s the question behind that question: “Why does Joseph care that they are sad?” He has his own problems.
Reflection: When you have worries, are you still able to sympathize with others?
Action: Notice the people around you. Any sad faces? Ask if you can help.
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
- Merriam Webster
When we left off yesterday, Joseph had just been propositioned by Potiphar’s wife. He turned her down – which took both integrity and courage. (The “Me Too” movement reminds us that sexual harassment in the workplace is still around!) Potiphar’s wife was not one to take rejection well. She kept after Joseph. “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with your or even be with her.” (Gen. 39: 10) What a stressful, uncomfortable work environment!
One fateful day, Joseph was in the house, doing his job, and none of the other household servants were around. Uh, oh. Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph by his cloak. She held on tightly and said, “Let’s get it on!” (OK, that was Marvin Gaye, but you get the idea.) This time, Joseph just had to run away, but she held onto his cloak for dear life, and it was still her hand has Joseph ran away in his boxers. As I said before, Potiphar’s wife was not one to take rejection well. She screamed for her household servants. She said, “Look, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed! When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” (Gen. 39: 13-15) Liar, liar, pants on fire!
Have you ever heard it said, “No good deed goes unpunished?” That was the case for Joseph. He did the RIGHT thing, maintaining his integrity even under tremendous stress. And what happened? His master took him and threw him Pharaoh’s prison. Man! I don’t know about you, but I would be…what? Angry? Check. Depressed? Check. Wallowing in self-pity? Check.
But not Joseph. I’m sure he wasn’t happy to be in the Pharaoh’s prison, but we read that while Joseph was in prison, “the Lord was with him.” In addition to that, the warden was kind to Joseph, impressed with his abilities, and soon put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners. Not long after that, Pharaoh’s baker and his chief cup-bearer somehow offended the king, and so they were thrown into prison. Joseph helped them settle in and showed them the ropes.
One night, the baker and the cup-bearer both had weird, disturbing dreams. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed how dejected they looked. And now comes our question for today: “Why are your faces so sad today?” Here’s the question behind that question: “Why does Joseph care that they are sad?” He has his own problems.
Reflection: When you have worries, are you still able to sympathize with others?
Action: Notice the people around you. Any sad faces? Ask if you can help.
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Lenten DevotionalsWeird is the New Normal: Day OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisDay 5: Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: Day SixWeird is the New Normal: Day SevenWeird is the New Normal: Day EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis Day NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis: Day TenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day ElevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day Twelve
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